Convenience Matters

Over the past year, we visited more than 100 convenience stores. We'll share what we saw at c-stores and what it might mean to your business in 2024. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky

Our top-downloaded episode of 2023: Store managers have a significant impact on hiring and retaining great people. Hear how one retailer is coaching her team so they can be at their best. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Annie Gauthier, CFO & Co-CEO, St. Romain Oil Company (dba Y-Not Stop) Annie is CFO/Co-CEO of St. Romain Oil Company (dba Y-Not Stop), based in Mansura...

What's fact or fiction related to how quickly electric vehicles will grow sales? How today's market evolves is dependent upon economics and politics, and both are highly unpredictable. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: John Eichberger, Executive Director, Transportation Energy Institute John has more than 20 years of experience in the fuels industry, including more than a decade leading the...

Wages and benefits are the largest expense to your business, but can also have the greatest ROI. Competitive hiring practices can help you get and keep great people who advance your business from the front line. Find out if your offer is competitive and learn about the data and resources NACS has to help. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Jayme Gough, Market Research Ma...

Convenience stores are in the relationships business. Over the past two decades, Michael Davis has played a central role in connecting retailers. Listen as he shares ideas on how to connect with industry peers. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Michael Davis, NACS Vice President of Member Services Michael has spent the past 18 years at NACS and even longer in the indust...

NACS Show panelists share ideas on how organizations can develop processes to come up with great ideas—and execute them—over and over. Hosted by: Gray Taylor, Executive Director, Conexxus About our Guests: Emily Sheetz, VP, Innovation and IT, Sheetz Inc. Emily is responsible for the development of and execution of company strategy as well as innovation, which includes the newly formed Sheetz Incub...

Convenience retailers share how the The Good Jobs Strategy is helping their companies increase employee productivity, contribution and motivation. Hosted by: Henry Armour, President & CEO, NACS About our Guests: Zeynep Ton, Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, President, The Good Jobs Institute Zeynep's research focuses on how organizations can design and manage their operations in a way tha...

Being a local brand in rural America is a huge differentiator for consumers. By showing your commitment to the local community, you ultimately build trust—and that leads to sales. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Akhtar Hussain, Director of Refined Fuels Marketing at CHS Inc. Akhtar is responsible for brand marketing, retail development and imaging, and equipment for the Cenex brand, which...

Three acclaimed road warriors share their stories from the road and their ideas on how your stores can be "discovered" by more people travelling on highways -- or even in your neighborhood. Hosted by: Don Rhoads, President/CEO, The Convenience Group LLC and 2022-23 NACS Chairman About our Guests: Stephanie Stuckey, Chair, Stuckey's Corp. Four years ago, Stephanie purchased Stuckey's Corp., the com...

In the current labor climate, many companies are trying to hire quickly. Family Express, however, is finding that spending more time during the hiring process, from application to job offer, is working out much better. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Alex Olympidis, President of Operations, Family Express Corp. Alex is the president of operations for the 80-plus store Family Express Corp.,...

The rise of electric vehicles in Norway could force convenience retailers around the world to reconceive the traditional fill up and rethink their business models. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Magnar Møkkelgård, NACS Relationship Partner Nordics Magnar Møkkelgård is currently the relationship partner for NACS in the Nordics. He enjoys receiving visitors from other...

Many consumers say they are "all in" on certain climate change policies, but their views soften once they learn how these changes would affect them. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Rich Carrione, Vice President of Operations, Warm Thoughts Communications Rich Carrione is vice president of operations for Warm Thoughts Communications, a marketing agency specializing in the residential energy...

Convenience retailers can create affordable marketing campaigns with college athletes. These campaigns can help drive traffic and fun to your stores. Here's what you need to know to get started. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Shannon Carroll, Contributing Writer, NACS Magazine Shannon is an award-winning journalist with a reputation for finding and telling great stories. She has interview...

William Shatner sat down to talk about what's on his mind—and it's a lot—following his NACS Show appearance in 2018. It's one of our most popular episodes and definitely our longest. And worth another listen. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard, VP of Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Henry Armour, President and CEO, NACS About our Guest: William Shatner Captain Kirk, T.J. Hooker, Denny Crane, so many T...

How does a local convenience retailer with a few stores get millions of views on YouTube? We'll take you through the process and talk about how you can adapt his ideas. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Babir Sultan, CEO, FavTrip Babir is the CEO of FavTrip, with has locations around Kansas City. He also has built a highly successful online presence with two video serie...

NACS veterans share an insider's look at what attendees can look forward to at the NACS Show, how they can prepare and how they can make the most of what they saw, learned and heard at the global c-store industry's premier event. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Jeff McQuilkin, Director, Exhibit Sales and Services, NACS A trade show expert and veteran, Jeff has been wi...

How can you develop a holistic brand strategy and identify points of differentiation for your brand? Hear insights from two presenters of a special advanced category management certification course offered in conjunction with the NACS Show. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guests: Lucia Romanello Crater, EVP Sales and Business Development, Impact 21 Lucia has 25-plus years in the convenience store...

As the global convenience retail industry gets ready for the 2023 NACS Show, a James Beard Award finalist takes us on a tour of some of the unique c-store and restaurant fare around Atlanta. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Mike Jordan, Food and Culture Writer Mike Jordan is an Atlanta-based multimedia journalist covering culture through food, business, entertainment, travel and technology....

A new Transportation Energy Institute research report highlights how several surprises affected the retail fuels market over the past 10 years, and what industry stakeholders should be prepared for in the next decade. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: John Eichberger, Executive Director, Transportation Energy Institute John has more than 20 years of experience in the fuels industry, includin...

Retail design teams do great work but, in many cases, can benefit from experts. We look at how to decide what's best for your business in developing and executing a digital strategy. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Rick Sales, President, Abierto Networks Rick is founder and president of Abierto Networks, a leading digital engagement solutions provider focused on the convenience store and c...

NACS was founded in August 1961, but its roots go back decades earlier. We share stories about how and why the industry--and NACS--was created, and where it's going. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard

E-fuels are increasingly seen as a global alternative to electric vehicles, which until now have been the only option for achieving the decarbonization objectives set by countries throughout Europe. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Dr. Lorenz Kiene, Owner and Managing Director, Luehmann Group Lorenz is owner and managing director of the Luehmann Group, overseeing different initiatives to pr...

The acceptance of cannabis in retail has come a long way in the past decade. Today, consumers talk about the properties—a sleep aid, a solution to chronic pain, or some other benefit—as opposed to the stereotypes a few decades ago. With these changes are changes in laws and regulations regarding its sale. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard About our Guest: Melissa Vonder Haar, Writer/Consultant, MelissaV Inc....

Food safety expert and attorney Shawn Stevens shares how his team works with companies to develop food handling protocols, interventions, and supplier partnerships to ensure convenience retailers and restaurants serve high quality and safe food for their consumers. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Shawn Stevens, Founder and Food Industry Lawyer, Food Industry Counsel L...

NACS Chairman Don Rhoads visited more than 60 stores to meet with frontline employees and thank them for being the face of our industry. He also has great stories to share from several road trips with NACS staff. Hosted by: Jeff Lenard and Chrissy Blasinsky About our Guest: Don Rhoads, 2022-23 NACS Chairman, President/CEO, The Convenience Group LLC As NACS chairman, Don also leads the NACS Executi...